Candidates for Illinois Senate Release New Ads Calling for Term Limits

Published Sep 4, 2018 at 10:12 AM

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Four women running for the Illinois State Senate released new television ads Tuesday - in which three of them took the unusual step of calling on term limits for powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The Democratic candidates - Laura Ellman, Suzy Glowiak, Ann Gillespie and Bridget Fitzgerald - are each running for Republican-held districts in Chicago's suburbs that voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, leading many to believe they may be among the most likely to turn blue in November.

Though Madigan is leader of the Illinois House, Democratic insiders admit that his power impacts the Senate as well.

Last year, the Senate agreed to a 10-year term limit for its leaders. Senate President John Cullerton has been Senate President since 2009, but the new guidelines apply to him beginning in January 2017 when the Senate agreed to the new term limits.

The women's new ads, running on cable television for now, are paid for by each of the candidates' political committees. All but Glowiak called for term limits on Madigan.